A BRITISH Airways supervisor is on the run in India accused of organising a £3million immigration scam for around five years — from his Heathrow check-in desk.
The suspect, 24, who worked at Terminal 5, is said to have charged customers £25,000 a time to abuse a loophole in order to fly them across the BA network without crucial visa documents.
Police are working with counterparts in India to try to trace the man, who vanished with his BA ground services partner after being arrested and bailed.
As part of his fiddle, he got clients, most from India, to fly to the UK on a temporary visitor visa where he arranged for them to jet elsewhere.
Other clients were UK-based asylum claimants who feared being returned to their country of origin.
Canadian authorities raised the alarm after years of BA flights to Toronto or Vancouver on which arrivals would immediately declare asylum.
A probe found all were checked in by the same man who falsely verified the travellers had an eTA — electronic travel authorisation — to enter a chosen country.
An eTA can be applied for by a passenger only in their country of origin, and would have been rejected without the BA official’s help.
He was nicked on January 6 but bailed after which he flew to India, from Heathrow, where he has bought several homes, it is said.
A source told The Sun last night: “He exploited a loophole knowing that immigration checks are no longer carried out by officials but are left to airline staff.
“By inputting wrong data, and claiming eTA documents had been secured, he got people to countries they had no permission to enter in the first place.
“On arrival, the bogus passengers would shred their documents and claim asylum.
“Many jetted to Britain to pay him to get them to Canada.
“Others had been stuck in the UK immigration system for up to 10 years, and feared being sent back to their country of origin.
“It was an ingenious plan which has made him millions over the years.
“No-one knows yet the full extent of what’s gone on.”
BA sources said the airline had terminated the contracts of the supervisor and his partner.
A spokesman said: “We’re assisting the authorities with their investigation.”
The Home Office claimed it would be “inappropriate” to comment while an investigation is ongoing.
The Met and Border Force were approached for comment.
